Delaware County

Service Members, Veterans & Their Families

Additional thanks for Veterans Day

During the Veterans Day brick dedication ceremony in Lavonia, I regretfully omitted something that should have been included.

One of the contributing factors was the dreadfully cold, windy weather that day.

Belatedly, I would like to recognize and commend the following people for their significant contributions to the success of this memorable event.

I would like to thank Dr. Judy Hulsey for the appropriate and up-lifting invocation with which she blessed us.

I would also like to thank the talented Ashley Strickland for her beautiful rendition of our national anthem.

As usual, officers of the Lavonia Police department were sharp in their Honor Guard performance which enhanced the military ambience of the event.

When most of us think of veterans, we usually think of men although I enumerated four ways women contributed enormously during America's victory in World War II.

In retrospect, I should have been more inclusive by reminding us of the Navajo Indian code talkers who transmitted coded messages between American forces to keep our planned attacks secret.

The Japanese could never decipher these messages which aided our victory in war.

Also, the Tuskegee fighter pilots escorted and protected American bombers on raids and never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft.

During and since World War II, America's military forces have included members from numerous nationalities and races.

Special recognition is in order for every person who attended this event.

When Ashley was singing our national anthem, not a single person dropped to one knee in disrespect to our flag, our nation and our veterans. How nice it was to be speaking to a patriotic audience. Fred Addison,